This is wrong (wenclair)

enchanting red

Wednesday's pov:

As I walk through the hall feeling the heat of my cheeks burning, I notice something different in the right wall of the corridor.  I pause, taking a closer look at the poster right in front of me. Looks like there's an invitation tonight.

As I turn away from the garish poster, ready to put the ordeal out of my mind, I feel a tug at my sleeve. I glance down, and there he is Thing, gesturing wildly toward the poster.

I narrow my eyes. "If this is about Enid, save yourself the trouble."

Thing freezes for a moment before tapping the poster with exaggerated enthusiasm, his fingers tracing the words “Find Your Perfect Mate.”

I let out a slow, withering sigh. "She’s already going with Ajax. This... spectacle of shallow frivolity isn’t my idea of a good time. Or hers, I imagine. But she’ll go because of him."

Thing shakes his fingers, almost angrily, as if dismissing Ajax entirely. He points at me, then at the poster, and finally mimes a radiant smile that is unmistakably Enid’s.

I stiffen. "You think this is a good idea? Watching her laugh and dance with someone else while I stand there in the shadows, pretending not to care?" My voice is low and biting, though my chest aches as I speak the words. I detest how weak I am talking about her.

Thing pauses, then makes a pleading motion, his fingers curling toward me as if to pull me forward.

I shake my head, stepping back. "No, Thing. I won’t do it. There’s no point."

He gestures again, more desperately this time, but I turn away. "It doesn’t matter how I feel," I say coldly, though the effort it takes to keep my voice steady is maddening. "Some things are... out of reach. And I’ve accepted that."

Thing drops his fingers, motionless now, as if he knows he’s lost this battle. I feel his silent reproach as I walk away, but I don’t look back.

As I retreat into the comforting solitude of my own thoughts, I murmur, "She’ll be happier with him, anyway." The words are bitter, but the burn in my chest tells me they’re true.

And for once, I allow myself to admit that maybe staying in the shadows is where I belong.

Enid's pov:

I stood there froze, in total confusion. There are so many things through my head like thousands of wolves running around with nonstop. All of that was so... unexpected, I mean she just said that out of nowhere like something easy to confess. I'm still in shock that someone like Wednesday would even have EMOTIONS and then she goes and tells me that she LIKES me? IN THAT WAY?

I don't know, it feels all too rushed and inconvenient, like I'd never expect something like that outing her mouth. I mean, she knows what she wants, I don't. And the last thing I want to do is to hurt her, if I haven't already.

I snap out of my thoughts as I sense the buzz of my phone underneath the fabric of the pocket. I slip my hand in the pocket reaching for the phone inside. Once picked up, some messages of 'my boy' pops up in the lock screen.
I catch myself letting out a breath as I open the chat on Ajax's.

'Wanna be my perfect mate for tonight? :)'
I chuckled shyly at the message imagining his voice saying it. But slowly my smile disappears getting back at reality.

It sounds so simple, so sweet, right? And yet, something about it makes my stomach twist. I mean, we’re together. Of course, I’m his mate. But the way he asked it, so... earnest, it makes me feel like there’s something I’m supposed to be feeling that I just don’t. I should be excited, thrilled even. It’s Ajax, after all. He’s my boyfriend. I’ve been with him for a while now, and there’s no reason not to be all in, right?